Very interesting, Mike, thanks -- and just when I was about to give up! I'd tried ...a5 after ...Bb4 but could not make it work -- I didn't think of ...Be7 plus the immediate ...a5 + Knight-reroute plan. Two curious things have struck me about these lines -- first, that Black can even contemplate 'wasting' so much time with his Knight(s), and second that even though Black is cramped, it might be better for him not to force the exchange of dark-squared Bishops ...

Your idea is possible in both move orders, 9 ...a5 10 Bd3 Nf8 and 9 ...Nf8 10 Bd3 a5. One possible problem might be that in neither case is Bd3 forced -- White could try the sneaky Be2, as Houdini looks as though it might be going to (but then it's logical to think ..Nh7 ideas might be on). The next thing to look at perhaps?

H'mm. Not a lot of interest in the wonderful Tango. Well I thought wonderful, but the lines above strike me as rather bleak -- I'd love to be proved wrong. The 9 ...Nf8 line seemed soundest to me last time I looked at this, but hardly very inspiring.

7 Qc2 Bb4!? is we're told, wrong -- but is this so clear? Is it really worse than the alternatives? I wondered about 8 Bg5 c6 9 e3 Qc7!?, or else 8 ...a5!?. Do you have anything on this, Vass (or anyone)?

3 ...e6!? -- fantastic! I never knew this opening existed! Who has pioneered it, and is there any theory? (I can see there are loads of transpositional possibilities ...) When I get time I might open a thread on it!

As regards the Tango, after 7 Qc2 d6!? 8 Bg5 Be7 9 e3, we now have three variations! Here are my thoughts so far:

III 9 ...Nf8!?. The choice of Houdini, which gives the wonderful line 10 a3 N8h7 11 Bd3 g6 12 Bh6!? Ng4 13 Bg6 N7f6 14 Bg7 Rg8 15 Bf6 Nf6 16 Be4 Ne4 17 Qe4 f5 and Black is OK? Alternatively 10 Bd3 Nh7 here transposes to II, but blow me down, Houdini plays instead 10 ...N8d7. This seems to make no sense -- Black has lost four moves with his Queen's Knight! But then, can White claim any more than a slight edge? -- is it clear that the White c5 lever is going to be any more possible/dangerous than a Black ...f5?

I haven't looked at 8 ...Ne7 yet. I imagine White gets an advantage but you never know ...

You're welcome!And now it's better! We can follow the stream.. Firstly, why 3...e5 exactly? Imho, 3...e6 is more interesting, though I agree there's no Knights' Tango thereafter.And secondly, I post some games you may not know - with 7...Bb4?! which you don't mention (quite rightly so) and with 7...d6!?.

Hi, Michael!It's evident you are deep into the Tango waters, so we'll have to take a dive in order to follow you.. Hence, probably the first act is to become acquainted with your divings (in pgn-format):

I’m starting this thread in the hopes there might be others like me who are interested in exploring any newer developments in -- and White’s most dangerous lines against -- the Black Knights’ Tango. Thinking about why I often fail to look systematically at the recent games, I reckon this might be out of a feeling that White’s strongest tries involve not allowing a Tango at all, but heading for (e.g.) a Zurich Nimzo (the subject of another current thread). But the lines with an early h2-h4 (Chapter 2, pp. 42-54 of Richard Palliser's excellent 2005 book) strike me as no less dangerous than Tango-avoidance, and yet there are not many GM/IM games to look at.

White can also try (7 Qc2 d6) 8 Ng5!? here. I’m not sure how dangerous 8 …Be7 9 Ne6!? is, but maybe 8 …Ne7 is an idea here too? In many of these lines, though, the boundary between ‘solid’ and ‘nagging inferiority’ looks a hard one to see clearly, and I think Black has always to take care not to end up in a merely passive position. In short, 7 Qc2 looks to me a serious try, and I'm not at all sure what the best answer is.

This at any rate is my attempt to start the ball rolling on the more dangerous Tango lines. Any thoughts?